Mychal Kendricks Says Trade Request Was Denied by Eagles

Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Mychal Kendricks said Friday he requested a trade from the organization during the offseason and the idea was rejected by the team's front office.

Tim McManus of ESPN.com passed along comments from Kendricks, who's spent his entire five-year NFL career with the Eagles since getting selected in the second round of the 2012 draft.

"Their response was you're young, you're talented and we're not into that. So I took it like that and was like, 'Alright.' That's why we have agents," he said. "That's the business. It's just like that. You tell them what you want, they either do it or they don't and you are in the contract that you signed. So that's it."

In February, Jimmy Kempski of Philly Voice reported the Eagles were "likely" to trade the linebacker and his $6.6 million cap hit for the 2017 season. McManus noted there were talks with the San Francisco 49ers and Atlanta Falcons around the draft, but a deal never materialized.

The 26-year-old California native struggled to make an impact during the 2016 campaign. He racked up 32 combined tackles, one fumble recovery and no sacks across 15 games. He'd registered at least 75 tackles in each of his first four years with the team.

While Kendricks is once again slated to start at outside linebacker, the Eagles' use of nickel and dime packages could leave him without a high-impact role for a second straight year.

In turn, the University of California product doesn't believe the window has shut on a potential trade despite the arrival of training camp, per ESPN.com.

"No, it's never closed," Kendricks said. "There's a million teams out there. You've only gotta have one of them that loves you, one of them that likes what you're doing. There's 32 out there. It's never closed. Everyone's up. We're all renting space here, coaches included."

Kendricks is under contract through 2019 with a cap hit that rises by $1 million each year to $8.6 million in the final season of the deal. That's a steep price to pay for a linebacker who's the first player off the field when Philadelphia goes into sub packages.

Najee Goode, Nate Gerry and Kamu Grugier-Hill would likely compete to fill the void if a trade does get made before the regular season gets underway.